CHAPTER XXVI. 



THE TIMBER TREES OF AUSTRALIA. 



THE TEWART TREE (Eucalyptus]. 



A VARIETY of the White Gum. Is found principally in 

 the Swan River and King George's Sound district of 

 Western Australia. It is a tree of straight growth and 

 noble dimensions, yielding timber of from 20 to 45 feet 

 in length by from 1 1 to 28 inches square. 



The wood is of a yellowish or straw colour, hard, 

 heavy, tough, strong, and rigid ; the texture close, and 

 the grain so twisted and curled as to render it difficult 

 either to cleave or work. It is a very sound wood, 

 possessing few or no defects, with the exception of a mild 

 form of heart and star-shake at the centre, which would 

 necessitate a small amount of waste, if it were required 

 to reduce the logs into thin planks or boards; but, if 

 employed in large scantlings, it will be found a most 

 valuable wood, especially where great strength is needed. 



The Tewart shrinks very little in seasoning, and does 

 not split while undergoing that process ; it is also 

 characteristic of this wood that it will bear exposure to 

 all the vicissitudes of weather for a long time without 

 being in any but the least degree affected by it. I have 

 known it subjected to this severe test for fully ten years, 

 and when afterwards converted, it opened out with all 



